Wiltshire charity nets £10,000 from England footballer's foundation

Liverpool and England football star Steven Gerrard has scored in Wiltshire with a grant of almost £10,000 which will enable local charity Splitz to help children affected by the traumas of domestic
abuse.

The grant comes from the Steven Gerrard Foundation which was set up to enable him to make a lasting difference to children.

Some 500 applications were made to the Foundation, and Splitz is the only one of the three recipients to be based outside of the north of England.

The grant will go toward the salaries of a project co-ordinator and specialist children’s worker on the “SplitzKidz” project.

The initiative provides one-to-one support for 11-16-year-old children in Wiltshire who have witnessed domestic abuse.

The project also runs groups that give children the chance to talk about what’s happened with others of the same age who have experienced similar issues.

Splitz will run groups for parents of the children so that they can better understand what the youngsters are going through.

One mother who wrote to thank Splitz for its work said: “I just wanted to say on behalf of me and the children – a really big huge thank you. Splitz has been incredibly helpful and even life-saving
to me and the children.

"The support that has been given and provided to my 14-year-old daughter has helped her so much. She has had a lot of trauma and upset in her life, being made worse by the divorce and what she has
heard and witnessed. Splitz has helped in putting her back on track.”

Splitz provides support to children and families with experience of separation, divorce and domestic abuse in Wiltshire.

Its vision is for a society where people have the right to be respected, to enjoy a happy and healthy life free from fear, and to achieve and sustain independence.

It does this by offering support services for young people who have witnessed domestic abuse; one-to-one support for victims of abuse; a mother and baby unit for young mothers; a “buddy” scheme
that provides befriending to lone parents; and a voluntary programme for male perpetrators of domestic abuse to help change their behaviour.